Help with wood ID

[crazylegs]

I met a guy yesterday and got a lot of wood from him but there are a couple of bits we are not sure about. He works at Longleat estate and saved these from the fire. He thinks Azalea and rhododendron. Several posts to get them in!!

[Les Symonds]

Numbers 1 and 2 just look so like oak, with strong medullary rays, whereas three and four must surely be yew.

Les

[seventhdevil]

les is 100% correct.

[Bryan Milham]

les is 100% correct.

My thoughts exactly.

[crazylegs]

thanks, 1 and 2 are quite light and saw easily so I dont think oak. the bark on 3 and 4 is flakey and in plates. A bit like a plane tree do you still think yew?

[Les Symonds]

thanks, 1 and 2 are quite light and saw easily so I dont think oak. the bark on 3 and 4 is flakey and in plates. A bit like a plane tree do you still think yew?

Fair point regarding 1&2, which just shows that it's important (if not essential) to get all the information into the post when you request a timber ID. If it's light weight and saws easily, it suggests something other than oak. However, the bark on 3 &4 is spot on for yew, as is the delineation between sapwood and heartwood, as well as other features in the images.
Les

[seventhdevil]

les is right about needing info but in this case oak is what it is.

it may have been exposed to a form of rot in the past that has reduced the structural integrity of the timber making it easier to cut and lighter but not necessarily causing any spalting.

also don't forget that the average weight of oak is exactly that, an average. you will get bits alot heavier and alot lighter. some species i have encountered have had a 10lbft3 difference from the average weight of that species which really threw me when i was identifying it as i presumed it should have weighed more.

don't forget that the wood at the top of the tree weighs less than the wood at the base as you don't want heavy wood 100' up in the air.

lastly you don't know exactly which species of quercus you have there not to mention the growing conditions of the plant itself all of which can greatly affect the weight and specifics of the material the tree produces.

pictures 1&2 are oak, 3&4 are yew...

[crazylegs]

many thanks. A great help.